Collegium recommends elevation of 4 HC Chief Justices as Supreme Court judges

• The Supreme Court collegium recommended the elevation of Chief Justices of four High Courts and a senior  as judges of the Supreme Court.

• The collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, held its meetings on May 22 and May 27.

• It has recommended the elevation of Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Shree Chandrashekhar, Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court Sanjeev Sachdeva, Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh Arun Palli and Mohana as judges of the Supreme Court.

• The collegium also proposed the name of V. Mohana, a senior advocate practising in the Supreme Court, as a judge of the apex court.

• In another notification, the collegium recommended appointment of Justice Meenakshi M. Rai, High Court of Sikkim, as Chief Justice, High Court of Judicature at Patna, consequent upon retirement of incumbent Chief Justice on June 4.

What is the collegium system?

• The collegium system is a forum including the Chief Justice of India and four senior-most judges of the SC, which recommends appointments and transfers of judges. 

• Judges of the higher judiciary are appointed only through the collegium system, and the government has a role only after names have been decided by the collegium.

Appointment of SC judges

• The CJI and judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President under clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution.

• In order to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court, a person must be a citizen of India and must have been, for at least five years, a judge of a High Court or of two or more such courts in succession, or an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such courts in succession for at least 10 years or he must be, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist. 

• Provisions exist for the appointment of a judge of a High Court as an ad-hoc judge of the Supreme Court and for retired Judges of the Supreme Court or High Courts to sit and act as judges of that court.

• Whenever a vacancy is expected to arise in the office of a judge of the Supreme Court, the CJI will initiate a proposal and forward his recommendation to the law minister to fill up the vacancy.

• The opinion of the CJI for appointment of a judge of the Supreme Court should be formed in consultation with a collegium of the four senior-most judges of the apex court.

• The opinion of members of the collegium in respect of each of the recommendations as well as the senior-most judge in the Supreme Court from the High Court from which a prospective candidate comes, would be made in writing. The CJI must transmit his opinion as also the opinion of all concerned to the government of India as part of record.

• After receipt of the final recommendation of the CJI, the law minister will put up the recommendations to the Prime Minister, who will advise the President in the matter of appointment.

• Supreme Court judges retire upon attaining the age of 65 years.